First they found the bodies of four prostitutes wrapped in hessian sacks, then
four more bodies, one belonging to a child, off the same Long Island road
that runs through deep scrubland and past brilliant white beaches.

This week, a little farther along the low spit of land that forms the southern
coast of Long Island — home to some of New York’s wealthier classes and now,
perhaps, a graveyard for victims of a serial killer — police found more
human remains.

The investigation began with a small-scale search for Shannon Gilbert, a
24-year-old prostitute from Jersey City. Like the first four